Barclays Lowers Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target to $520.00

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price objective decreased by investment analysts at Barclays from $550.00 to $520.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the social networking company’s stock. Barclays‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 17.30% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Roth Mkm increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $375.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. TD Cowen increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $415.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $565.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $545.00 target price (down previously from $600.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $509.18.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of META stock opened at $443.29 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a current ratio of 2.67. Meta Platforms has a 52-week low of $229.85 and a 52-week high of $531.49. The company has a market capitalization of $1.13 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s fifty day moving average is $494.48 and its 200 day moving average is $404.27.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.37% and a net margin of 32.06%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms will post 20.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 566 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $404.00, for a total value of $228,664.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,026,880. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 566 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $404.00, for a total value of $228,664.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,026,880. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total transaction of $2,600,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 68,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,574,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,349,148 shares of company stock valued at $649,552,559. 13.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Stone House Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 625.0% in the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth $44,000. Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 411.1% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc engages in the development of products that enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality headsets, and wearables worldwide. It operates in two segments, Family of Apps and Reality Labs. The Family of Apps segment offers Facebook, which enables people to share, discuss, discover, and connect with interests; Instagram, a community for sharing photos, videos, and private messages, as well as feed, stories, reels, video, live, and shops; Messenger, a messaging application for people to connect with friends, family, communities, and businesses across platforms and devices through text, audio, and video calls; and WhatsApp, a messaging application that is used by people and businesses to communicate and transact privately.